Karin Housley disses license plates for women veterans in podcast; she voted for plates in 2014

After discussing the recent Me Too movement, the “Womankind” host asked Housley if there was anything she’s doing to advocate for women. She brought up a recent Minnesota measure that created specialized license plates for female veterans.

“I believe that when you start doing that, you make us look weaker. I believe if you’re a woman veteran, you’re a veteran,” Housley said.

Housley is confused about her own voting record on this. She seems to be not quite ready for prime time. As for the veterans plates, MPR reported in 2015 that it was "the latest in more than two dozen different kinds of Minnesota plates created to honor military service."

A proposal to provide specialty license plates for women veterans in Minnesota is slowly making its way through the legislative process. It has stalled in previous years, but advocates remain hopeful.

Specialty plates have been a subject of debate in the Minnesota Legislature over the years, and lawmakers generally have been resistant to adding many more incarnations.

But advocates for these license plates argue that the plates would go a long way toward removing the invisibility that many women veterans feel, even among the well-meaning.

“This is not a vanity plate, it’s a values plate,” said veterans advocate Trista Matascastillo, a former Marine and a former member of the Minnesota National Guard.

It’s not uncommon for women veterans to feel slighted, even as the number of women veterans continues to increase. In Minnesota, there are an estimated 29,000 women vets, about 8 percent of the state’s veteran population.

At a recent hearing, West Point grad and Army and National Guard veteran Jill Troutner made the case for the plates as something visual that can’t be mistaken as recognition of anyone’s service but their own.

“Everyone notices a veteran’s plate, everyone assumes that it belongs to a man,” she told legislators. “For me, this license plate is a statement of value, that Minnesota, my state, values my contribution, my sacrifices and my patriotism in a highly visible way that will eliminate the need to explain to others that I am a military veteran.”

Minnesota was one of the first states to propose the plates, and now nine other states have adopted similar plates. . . .

...The Senate Floor Vote on May 5th, 2014, started with chief author, Senator Johnson, introducing the bill. Her co-authors included: Sen Susan Kent, Sen David Tomassoni, Sen Kent Eken, and Sen Julie Rosen. What Sen Johnson and her co-authors faced on the Senate Floor was an unexpected fury. The skirmish started with Sen Carrie Ruud’s opening salvo that her mother would send lightning down to strike her if she voted for the bill. Sen Dan Hall unleashed arguments that went from veterans not having the courage to stop the bill, that a woman veteran license plate takes choice away from women, and that every woman veteran who wanted a license plate would be forced into that plate.

The reactions in the gallery from the MN Women Veteran Initiative were incredulous. “I looked over at my battle buddies who rank from Colonel to Specialist and asked ‘Was I just called a coward?’” said Jill Troutner. “As far as the ‘taking away a woman’s choice argument,’ all I can say is that if I were awarded the Silver Star and could be eligible for that plate or a Woman Veteran License Plate-it is a no brainer. It is silly to say that we are forcing one choice when there are 18 veteran plates based on eligibility and four others that show support for troops. It smacks of antiquated fear mongering and misinformation."

Speaking for the bill and wading through the muck were Senators Jeff Hayden and John Marty. Senator Johnson stood her ground refusing to take any action to jeopardize the bill. Finally, after a tense hour on the Senate Floor, a vote of 54 in favor with 9 opposed was reached.

“My Senator, Warren Limmer, spoke for us and voted in favor despite his initial hesitation for another license plate,” stated Jill Troutner. “I felt that the opposition was disturbingly hypocritical and out of touch. It saddens me that Sen Ruud feels her mother was treated and recognized equally when the history shows otherwise. Sen Hayden spoke to that and was brilliant. When the final vote came, I realized that there were plenty of cooler and calmer heads on the Senate Floor- and they prevailed.”

It's perplexing that Housley now paints herself into the faction against the plates. It's not how she voted when she had the chance and it's puzzling that she implies that her own record is something other than what it is.

Why it's important that women veterans are visible

There's actually a more important issue here, however, than this nitwit's confusion about her own voting record. The I Am Not Invisible show now touring Minnesota asks on its sponsor's website, Why Now? The answers:

We're also at a loss why Housley believes she knows better than the women veterans working on visibility and other issues particular to their situations. Bluestem believes our women veteran friends when they talk about the consequences of invisibility.

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